A Royal Darwin Hospital gynaecologist allegedly made “suggestive” comments to a patient after he had medically examined her vagina, and later phoned her to ask her out to dinner. Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal records, show Dr Bhupendra Nath Khara admits he told his patient, among other things, that she was “petite and pretty” during a consultation in 2016. Dr Khara’s lawyers have asked the tribunal to rule that his unprofessional conduct was “at the lower end of the scale” and that he should be dealt with by an “appropriately worded reprimand”. The tribunal records also show the foreign-trained doctor admits to telling the patient that he “liked sex but that he is not interested in a relationship”. Dr Khara, who is now based in Victoria, admits he failed to “maintain professional boundaries”, but is set to argue at NTCAT his comments were not “suggestive” or “irrelevant” to the consultation and “must be considered in context”. Dr Khara denies the Medical Board of Australia’s allegation he breached code of conduct rules dealing with sexual boundaries.
